Save The Last Dance For Me & Let Me Carve You Into My Life
by Good Question
Summary: Destiel AU. Mother's day is always an important day for Dean & Sam. This year somehow the flowers he was supposed to get end up almost being an after thought. He knew he should've remembered the list. Desperately searching for flowers before visitation hours for the hospital are over he runs into Cas inside a flower shop he's never seen been in before and then can't stop going to.


**A/N: **For **Jamie **(innocentcastiel) because they I love them so much and they deserve all the best. Based on their prompt by the loveliest person mentioned above. :) *Un-beta'd.

"Teen!Cas (18) tends to his family's flower shop and works two other side jobs to provide for his siblings since his father died from an illness last summer (his mother left them at a young age). Dean comes by and falls in love with Cas instantly when he goes to the shop to buy flowers for Mary on Mother's day. Dean ends up buying half of the shop and he gives all of the flowers to Mary and they bond and talk about how Dean met the most beautiful boy.

Mary's in the hospital because of an illness that is very rare and needs regular check-up, but Dean (21) and Sam (9) visits regularly. Dean purposely takes the route that passes by the shop and comes by regularly to woo Cas and they also eat lunch together.

Jess (8) is Cas' neighbour and Cas babysits her when her parents go on business trips. Dean hires Cas to babysit Sam and Cas brings Jess along since they know each other. Sam and Jess are the in the background doing cute stuff—like giving each other ring pops and promise they'll marry and they carve their names on a tree in the backyard. Dean and Cas convince Sam and Jess to play "pretend married" and they have a ceremony and Cas is the priest but when they get to the vows Dean and Cas are looking at each other intently and they both ending up saying "I do," and going beet red at the realization. Sam and Jess make fun of them all through dinner and then they build two tents from blankets in the living room; one for Sam and Jess and the other for Dean and Cas. Dean and Cas both end up kissing (though trying to do it quietly and not going beyond more than kissing). Sam and Jess wake up and look at each other and shriek, "EW!" They make fun of Dean and Cas and imitate kissing noises when they eat breakfast the next morning. They all visit Mary and Sam and Jess tells her they're married now and about what happened at the house with Dean and Cas.

Mary is discharged from the hospital and comes home to find below the initials carved on the tree in the backyard: "Sam W. + Jessica M." is "Dean W. + Castiel N."

(❁´◡`❁)*✲ﾟ*"

**Save The Last Dance For Me & Let Me Carve You Into My Life**

Mother's day tended to be one of the most difficult days for Dean. Generally, because he was always left running around for the errands. It had always been a big deal at their house, and rightfully so. Ever since Mary had found out about John's other family, and the divorce that followed, Sam and Dean had made it a goal to make Mother's Day damn near more important than Christmas and birthday's combined. This year he hadn't even pretended to gripe about having to do all the leg work.

Mary was in the hospital. She'd been in pain for awhile and they'd slowly noticed her unable to do as many things on her own. Mary had of course kept it under wraps for as long as she could but found it harder to do when Dean had decided to stay at home instead of going to a university. Sam was only nine and he wasn't about to abandon his family. Not like his father had done.

When she'd stopped being able to keep food down they'd rushed her to the hospital. While no solid diagnosis had been given; the option's on the table were a little more than terrifying.

Dean had left Sam at the hospital with their mother while he tried to get everything together to make at least a halfway decent mother's day. He'd been worried at first, leaving Sammy alone in the hospital, but it turned out the kid was less bothered by the machines and the IV's than he was. At the very least this year he had a plan of attack and a list, which he'd of course left at the hospital. He was running out of time and took a shortcut to the hospital, still trying to get flowers. It was the last thing he needed to get and had almost forgotten about. (Next year he swore he'd tape the list to the windshield of the Impala if he had to.) Dean lifted his hands in mock prayer as a small shop came into view. The hanging sign read 'Flower Boutique'.

The car rumbled loudly as he pulled up to the flower shop. Small bits of smoke drifted out of the exhaust and Dean almost felt guilty for pulling up so close. The flowers had been arranged spectacularly in neat rows leading to the door. They'd set up tables in slowly shortening increments so that each row of flowers got an even amount exposure. Bright bouquets of color nearly hid the powder blue windows from view as he tried to see to the door. He glanced at his watch and cursed. Dean slid out of the car and let the door slip out of his fingers and fall shut. Luckily the shop door, hidden by the sea of flowers, was open and he'd only had to make odd jerky movements twice to avoid the bees that hovered in the front. Bitterly, he wondered why the hell the extinction of bee's couldn't have been happening in their town. He'd been stung once as a kid and the memory of it still made him cringe.

As he stepped in through the door he lifted his hand to brush against the bell that was hanging on top of the frame. It jingled quietly as he stepped down the aisles of arrangements. "Anyone here?"

There wasn't an immediate answer so he let himself idly look around. All he really needed was a simple bouquet. Dean wasn't any type of 'flower' expert and he didn't think he had particularly good taste, Sam usually helped him pick them out, but he figured he could handle a bunch of flowers by himself. He was busy sticking his nose into an interesting assortment of red flowers when he felt someone suddenly at his elbow. In his surprise he nearly knocked over the entire display; succeeding in toppling only one over. Wildly, his hands flailed forward trying to catch it. Before it could smash to the ground it was caught out of midair by a pair of slender, defined hands.

"Are you all right?"

Dean looked up from where the bouquet had been rescue to find blue eyes staring back at him. If he'd been any bit of a poet, and if he'd known anything about gems or flowers, he might've made a few creative comparisons to the color. Instead his mind blanked out for a few moments thinking nothing but _blue. _He felt a smile take over his shocked features. He was glad for it. If nothing else he'd been told that his smile could melt butter and bring people to their knees. It was better than staring like an oaf, especially after the half blunder he'd just executed. Now if only his mouth would start working and spewing out some of that patented 'Dean Winchester' charm they'd be in business.

"Sir?"

Dean blinked and straightened himself out with a cough. "Sorry, must've knocked something loose in my brain too when I decided to send your display flying."

The boy, Dean could at least tell that he was younger (and at 21 that wasn't saying much), stared at him a little confused. He looked at the single bouquet in his hand and set it back onto one of the tunneled holders. It really hadn't been as big of a catastrophe as Dean was feeling it had been, or could've been.

The boy was gorgeous. His skin had been warmed a little by the sun, probably from working at the store during the day, and his mop of dark hair looked wind combed.

"There was no permanent damage." The boy smiled a little at him. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Huh?" Dean's brain finally caught up with him and he took in details he should've already seen. He was wearing a green apron with the store logo on it and a small name tag. _Castiel. _"Yeah, actually. I'm looking for flowers for mother's day."

"Do you have anything specific in mind?"

"Nah, not really. I mean usually my brother's here but he's at-" he paused for a moment, "he's with my mom."

Blue eyes crinkled a little at the corners. "I see, so you've been left to brave the world of flora alone."

"You could say that."

"Are you looking for something traditional?" Castiel started walking and Dean followed.

He let his eyes trail across the boy in front of him before clearing his throat and answering. "What would you recommend?"

It turned out he had a lot to recommend and the sweetest laugh. Which also turned out to be a rather deadly combination for his wallet. Desperate to learn more about Castiel he trailed after him like a lost puppy, hoarding smiles and laughs like gold.. It had taken Castiel suggesting a basket for the flowers to make Dean realize just how much he'd collected. It was too late to put any of them back.

"Your mother will be delighted," Castiel told him as he started ringing up the bouquets.

Dean laughed. "As long as the hospital lets me bring them all in." He clammed up. While he was pretty sure he'd just developed the biggest instantaneous crush on Castiel he hadn't meant to share that information.

The boy frowned. There was a shine of empathy in his eyes that made Dean want to frown himself. Someone who had a gorgeous smile like that should never know a similar type of pain. "I'm sorry to hear that. I hope it's nothing too serious."

Small talk. Dean knew it was just small talk but it made his stomach clench uncomfortably. "She's a tough woman."

"I'm sure she is." Castiel's expression brightened a little. He made a determined little nod before pulling up a set of white hyacinths and pale orange lilly's he had just set aside, scanning it again. The register made a small ping sound. "Here, on the house. They're supposed to represent good will and health."

Dean's neck heated up a little and he tried to find a way to protest while Castiel packaged them up neatly and rang up the total. He found he couldn't find anything of relative intelligence to say and instead switched to a different tactic. "I can't accept that. I don't do charity."

The boy smiled at him,an amused glint in his eye. "Don't think of it as charity. Think of it was a friendly gesture. A gift."

"Yeah well..." Dean pulled the large basket of floral assortment into his arms and cradled them. "I'll make it up to you. I promise." Castiel blushed and Dean found that he wanted to collect more of those for himself too. He could practically feel the protests coming and cut them off before they could form. "What's your schedule like?"

"I-uhm. I'm here most days; in the mornings especially. On holidays I tend to stay longer."

Dean fought the impulse to reach over and brush his hand over Castiel's clenched ones. It wasn't like he wanted to cause anxiety in the boy but he couldn't help but find the fidgeting a little endearing. "I'll be seeing you around, Cas."

It wasn't until he was back at the hospital, getting giggles and 'aaw's from the nursing staff that he remembered he'd never given his own name out. Dean didn't have much time to dwell on it as Sam launched towards him, knocking into his legs as he approached their mother's hospital room.

"Did you buy the entire store, Dean?"

He laughed and ruffled his younger brother's hair. "Damn near did." He winced a little and waited to see if their mother had heard through the half cracked door. Even bed ridden she didn't hesitate reprimanding him on his language. "How's mom?"

Sammy pulled back from his brother and put a finger to his lips. "Sleeping."

Dean nodded and put a finger to his own lips before creeping into the room together. He mentally thanked the hospital for keeping the doors well oiled as they slipped in quietly. Their mom needed her sleep. At first he'd assumed that with how sick she was that she'd be sleeping most of the time. When Mary had been at home she'd been fatigued all the time; as he'd found out fatigued and asleep were two very different things. The few times that their mother could catch some shut eye without anything in her drip were a blessing. Quietly he started setting separating out the flowers before asking a passing nurse if they had any vases they could spare. That had been something that had slipped his mind. The flowers needed somewhere to go.

"How's the card going?" Dean whispered as Sam climbed back up on a chair with a table next to it. It was covered in construction paper and a haphazard collection of crayons.

Proudly, Sammy held up a crudely folded piece of red construction paper. There were hearts and suns drawn all over the front along with a blue crayon 'LOVE YOU MOM' and a 'HAPPY MOTHERS DAY'. The inside flipped open to reveal very poorly glued white printer paper where Sam had drawn much more colorful images of their house and flowers and for whatever reason balloons. There was even a cake in the corner. It was a shame Mary couldn't eat any this year.

It didn't take long for her to wake up. Sam and Dean both kept a respectable distance from the bed as Mary blinked her eyes, still disoriented from sleep. Her tired gaze drifted across the room and a smile bloomed onto her face when she saw her two boys standing at the foot of the bed. The second thing she noticed was the vast array of colors that now decorated her room. "Oh boys."

Dean helped lift Sammy up to the corner of the hospital bed, carefully avoiding her feet. Sam crawled forward a little bit and proudly held out the card he'd doctored together. He'd even let Dean co-sign it in small, tiny print on the inside. "What's this?" Mary asked as she scooted her sheet a little. She held her hands out and pulled Sam as close to her side as she could get him while Dean dragged a chair to the edge of the bed. She looked at the drawings and flipped the card open, cooing at her son with pride. "Thank you Sammy," she said kissing the top of his head. He curled up next to her side and began animatedly explaining to her why every single item had been drawn.

"And that's chocolate cake," Sam declares pointing to the image in the corner.

"It looks delicious." Sam beamed up at her happily and let himself settle further into her side, hands making grabbing motions towards Dean.

He laughed and shook his head getting up and finding the book that he knew the motion meant. While their mother didn't always have the energy to read, during their visits Sam had discovered that he could read just fine on his own; as long as he was snuggled up with her.

"I wasn't expecting this many flowers," Mary said softly as she tucked her youngest son underneath the corner of her covers.

Dean blushed a little but gave her a boyish grin. It made his face look younger. Although barely drinking legal the added weight of Mary's illness and their father walking out on them had drained a lot of the glow and youth from him. "In my defense, I didn't mean to."

Mary laughed. "How do you accidentally walk out with half the store?"

He had a harder time answering that question. Blue eyes flashed in his mind and he had to avert his own gaze from his mother. It was embarrassing to talk about. While he'd come to terms with his rather open sexuality, it still wasn't something he wanted to sit down and chat over. He'd felt the same way when he'd had a crush on Rhonda Hurley before she'd moved away (and the awkwardness had nothing to do with pink, satin, panties).

"Dean?"

"The flower guy was pretty convincing."

"Oh?" There was amusement in her tone.

Dean sighed and leaned back in his chair, his mind wandering. It wasn't long before there was a goofy smile on his face. He rubbed his palm down his forehead and over his nose, before letting it drop off of his chin. A small laugh tried to bubble out of his chest but he stamped it down. He was fighting to keep his face straight and not to blush by the time he felt confident enough to look at his mother. The sheer look of endearment that she gave him was enough for him to duck his head down again, embarrassed.

"Tell me about him."

Dean found it a blessing every day that his mother had always been an open woman. John had left before it had ever really come up. He wasn't in a hurry to go ask him about it.

It still took him a little to get started. Dean glanced briefly at his little brother. While he was pretty sure Sam wouldn't care one way or another it was a thing he'd rather not discuss with his brother; or worse, have him start asking questions he didn't understand were invasive. "He's gorgeous."

Mary smiled at him and let her head rest further on her pillow.

Feeling encouraged Dean continued. "We didn't talk for long, or about much anything. Flowers and the weather-" Mary gave a quiet laugh. Knowing her son that was about as interesting to him as interior decorating. "- but I couldn't stop listening. Did you know _moss _has a flower meaning?"

"No, I didn't."

Dean huffed a little at himself under his breath. He hadn't even realized he'd been paying that much attention. Funny what recollection brought back to you when you weren't trying to desperately spark function back into your brain. "Never been to the store before. The guy scared me to death at first. Snuck up on me; I think I nearly trampled down the entire flower shop."

"That would've been a sight to see," Mary teased as she adjusted her arm. Sam had made it known with a gentle jab of his elbow that he needed to re-situate himself. She leaned forward and let her youngest fluff the pillows to his liking. She noticed Dean about to protest but shushed him. Yes, she was in pain and she would be happier with smaller dosages of pain killers, but it wouldn't be the end of the world for her to lean over.

"Anyway..." Dean trailed off, feeling nervous. He watched as Mary took in small, panted breaths from the exertion of moving that much alone. He fiddled with a hole in his jeans for a little bit. In his anxiousness his eyes trailed across the room and landed on the bouquet that Castiel, Cas, had put on his own tab. "These are from him."

Mary raised her eyebrows a little as Dean gingerly picked up one of the sets of flowers. She held out her arms and Dean did his best to ignore how they shook as he placed the hyacinths and lilies into her them. "Already sending gifts to the parents?"

She brought the flowers to her face and took the tiniest sniff. While they'd told her that there wasn't any major damage they could see in her lungs, no signs of asthmatic issues and no pulmonary edema, she was told to be careful. The nurses had approved the mini-garden so it couldn't have been that bad but she had to be safe. If not for her own sake than for her sons. She didn't want Dean to become a father at 21 and she knew that her eldest would fight tooth and nail for custody of Sam. There was no way he would approve of John and some strange woman raising him.

Dean blushed a little and shook his head. He smiled shyly as he took the bouquet back from his mother. "I let it slip that you were in the hospital and he just," Dean shrugged, "rang it up before I could say anything. He said that the flowers mean good will or getting better or some shit."

"Dean."

"Some stuff. Stuff."

Mary shook her head and hushed Sam as he made a noise of complaint at their constant yammering while he was trying to immerse himself in the book. He was already reading at a fifth grade level. There'd been talk of having him move up a grade but Mary and Dean had decided against it. All of Sam's friends were in the same class and he hadn't seemed particularly interested in moving up a grade. He could make that choice for himself later in school if he wanted.

"He sounds like a lovely boy. What's his name?"

"Castiel," Dean mumbled, liking the way it felt on his lips. "His name is Castiel."

They'd been kicked out of the hospital room shortly after that. Visitations hours were over and the two had stayed much longer than usual due to it being Mother's Day. They were going to wheel her away to do a few more tests and Sam had homework to get done. Despite best intentions Sam never got any finished at the hospital. It wasn't that he was a slacker, there was just a lot to distract him there. Dean kissed his mother on the cheek and momentarily clung to her hand before gathering Sam's little backpack and marching them to the car.

He was glad that at least when his parents had gotten divorced that his father had left the Impala. Especially with the hospital bills coming in, there wouldn't have been any way for them to afford getting a new car. They'd never been exactly wealthy so even when their joint back accounts had been, civilly, split it wouldn't have been able to afford that. Mary had sank most of the savings from John's share into the mortgage. It was nearly payed off on their small house. She'd wanted to make sure that no matter what her children had a place to come home to.

Sam was half asleep when they'd made it to their house. Dean stepped out of the car, waving hello to their neighbor Missouri (who, despite being one of the sweetest people on the block had an uncanny ability to _know _things), and then tried to shake his brother awake.

"Sammy, come on. You can't pass out yet. I'm betting a piece of pie that you haven't even touched your math homework yet."

Sam only angrily grumbled at him before trying to curl up more, falling further asleep. Dean sighed, shaking his head and slung his little brother's backpack across one shoulder. He winced as the straps dug in around and into his shoulder. It wasn't meant for adults to be putting their arms through. Still, it wasn't like he had much choice. He bent down to pick Sam up and smiled a little as his arms immediately went to wrap around his neck. Dean cradled him on one arm as he slammed the door shut and locked the doors. He only had to bounce his brother once to adjust his grip on the way up the steps.

He let Sam settle on the couch, steadily snoring, as he went through his brother's stuff to set up the homework.

Dean chuckled out a sigh and thanked the gods that Sam had fallen asleep in the car. (Which, not at all surprising with how late it was and how wired his little brother was during the day.) His homework, even his math, was all done. Dean made a vow to himself never to put pie on the line again. Obviously it wasn't something that was meant for him to bet with.

For a moment he contemplated on whether or not to leave Sam napping on the couch or if he should at least get him upstairs into his own bed. Dean had his own things to do. He still had to run the dishwasher and he had work in the morning. He'd had, for a little bit, gone to a local community college but the financial burdens of having to take care of two people had dropped him down to one class a semester. With the bills piling up it looked like this would be his last semester for awhile too. Mary's job wasn't offering any type of compensation for her time in the hospital. If it weren't for the help of their neighbors, the Winchester's had been well liked in the neighborhood, they would've gone down under a while ago.

It was something he was grateful, if not ashamed, about. He'd vowed that once he graduated and got a better job, once Mary got better; that he would work on paying everyone back for any amount of help they'd given. Whether it was fixing a fence, which he was already doing, or paying back money he felt their family owed, which would have to wait.

Thinking about their situation generally gave him a headache and he sighed, deciding to leave the dishes for tomorrow. The wouldn't start suddenly growing life overnight. Besides, he was pretty sure they were all at least rinsed off. He picked up Sam from the couch and chuckled a bit at how his body flopped around like a rag doll. "Come on, Sammy. You gotta at least brush your teeth. You know I wouldn't care but if mom were here she'd never let you go to bed without taking care of the pearly whites."

Sam woke up momentarily once they'd hit the second floor. Dean let him slide down and stand in front of the mirror. Figuring Sammy didn't have the brain capacity to do much, he fished out his brother's tooth brush, applied a liberal coating of toothpaste, and filled him up a glass. "Think you can handle brushing your teeth by yourself?"

All he received in response was a grunt but at least the toothbrush was in Sam's hand. Although it looked like it was about make an escape attempt straight to the tiled floor. Shaking his head, Dean wandered out of the room and into his brothers. He plugged in the two night lights they'd purchased a few years back and then pulled all of Sam's covers back. He arranged the pillows as best he could and gave the blanket one good shake to fluff it out.

Dean broke out laughing when he walked back into the bathroom to find his brother. Predictably the toothbrush had landed on the ground. What he hadn't expected was for Sammy to be leaning, forehead and cheek pressed against the cabinet of the sink, mouth open and drooling. "Come on, dork." Dean lifted him up and grabbed a chunk of toilet paper to wipe his brother's mouth clean.

He tucked him in and left the door cracked before moving to his own room. As he tucked himself into bed he pushed aside the thoughts of his frail mother and focused instead on what he was going to treat Cas with. His skin itched with the desire to say screw it and just take the guy on a date but maybe taking it slow would be the better part of valor this time.

Dean ended up not seeing Castiel for a few days.

The massive Mother's Day display had been taken down and he could now see into the shop as he drove past. He remembered the kid saying that he worked in the mornings and made a point to drive by to check if he was there. The kid was either hiding further back or every morning Dean just missed when he came in. Sam had commented on their new route one day when he'd dropped him off at the Elementary school and Dean had just turned the music a little louder and pretended he hadn't heard him. His schedule had been ramped up too to where he hadn't been able to take his usual lunch breaks so he couldn't drop by then either. Dean generally only got a reprieve from his boss to pick up Sammy and drop him off at Missouri's every day but when things got busy he rarely even ate lunch. (Missouri's was something that he was having to rely more and more on often and while she said she didn't mind he knew it made problems for her working schedule.) By the time he got off from work the flower shop was usually closed.

The next time he met Castiel was actually on a Saturday afternoon as he was heading home from a rather long visit with his mother. She'd taken small turn for the worst. The doctors had assured him that it wasn't anything that they needed to worry about, just that she was going to be a little lucid. He'd left Sammy home and while he'd been confused and a little upset he'd agreed as long as he got to stay up later. Missouri had promised not to feed him too much sugar.

So, it had been a long day for Dean. From work to the hospital and his bones ached. He still had chores and laundry to do back at the house, and he hadn't vacuumed in months. Dean needed a pick me up. Which is how he ended up in a coffee shop at strange hour in the evening and running straight into Castiel. He'd had to double check the name tag as he ordered his coffee black.

"Cas? How many jobs do you work?"

Castiel shrugged and bit his lip, similarly surprised to see him. "What I have to."

It wasn't the answer that he was looking for but he figured if the world had blessed him with this chance encounter he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Listen, Cas, sorry. I've had to work a little more. Bills and everything, but don't think I've forgotten about making it up to you."

"You really don't have to, uhm-"

"Dean. Never did introduce myself." He held out his hand across the counter. "Name's Dean."

Castiel blushed a little and looked around, then smiled and reached out his hand. Their palms fit together like matching puzzle pieces and suddenly the room felt ten degrees hotter for both of them.

"So, uh," Dean shrugged, the leather jacket feeling a little restricting. He glanced behind him at the angry line of customers starting to form. "Lunch."

"Excuse me?" Castiel tilted his head a little, as if a different angle would make the world make more sense.

"I-oh calm down-," he told the rudely coughing man behind him, "what do you usually do for lunch?"

"Oh. I usually have small bottle of orange juice and a granola bar. I don't really have the luxury for much more."

Dean frowned as he promised himself that he was going to elbow the other patron painfully in the eye if he kept obnoxiously coughing into his ear. "That doesn't sound healthy."

"It has plenty of nutritional value."

"Not what I meant," Dean said with a rueful smile. He ran his hand through the back of his hair and sped up the conversation before he really did get into an altercation with another customer. "You gonna be at the flower shop Monday?"

"I'm there every Monday, Dean."

He decided he liked his name rolling off of that tongue.

"Good, keep it free."

"You're very demanding," Castiel said with an amused expression.

"But I'm also incredibly charming." Dean winked at Cas and enjoyed the way his ears developed a red tint. It was followed by a glare of frustration as the customer that had been behind Dean started complaining about flirting with his boyfriend outside of work.

He made a mental note to apologize for that later. He didn't even know yet if Castiel would be receptive to being flirted with. It was practically ingrained in his personality to toss lines at anything that moved but that didn't mean he wanted to push where it wasn't wanted. He just hoped that Cas would be open to the idea, and maybe, after getting to know each other, Dean would get the balls to ask him out. Hell, he'd be down with a trial run with no strings attached just to get a chance.

Dean wasn't sure what exactly had made him so smitten. Maybe it had been the eyes, the smile, or the quiet laugh (he had to wonder what it sounded like the boy really lost it). Maybe it had been the way he knew his way around the shop or how his hands had looked as he'd wrapped and tied up the bouquets Dean had tricked himself into purchasing. Maybe it was the way he'd gifted something to his family, to his mother, just because he could, and the way his eyes hadn't swum with pity when he'd let the information about his mother slip.

It probably also helped that his Mary seemed to be encouraging the development.

He'd spoken to her briefly on Sunday. She'd been well enough for him to bring Sam along. While he busied himself with a coloring book on one of the tables, Dean helped administer his mother's medication while excitedly explaining to her how their run in had gone.

"Just remember not to be too rash."

"Rash? Me? I've got the patience of kings."

"Kings are notoriously temperamental," Mary said with a smile and a laugh. The small laughter quickly turned into a cough and Dean rubbed a tentative hand over her back. He didn't let her see the fear in his eyes. "Thank him for the flowers if you could."

Dean promised he would and so found himself outside of the flower shop, a little before lunch, with a bag of sandwiches in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. Nerves he hadn't known he had started to shake at his knees as he marched through the shop. Dean found he could breathe easier once he'd laid eyes on Cas. The boy was on his knees, surrounded by clumps of dirt with his hands on something that resembled a fern.

"Hey Cas."

He nearly dropped the plant.

"Dean?!"

"Not so fun being on the receiving end, huh?" Castiel looked confused and for a moment Dean felt stupid. Of course he'd be the only one to remember that small of an incident.

"Oh," Cas mumbled and shrugged. His frown eased out as he transferred the fern into a pot. "I suppose that makes us even then."

"Not quite yet," Dean replied, shoulders sagging with relief. He held up the bag of sandwiches, shaking it a little. "I believe I gave my word."

"Yes," Castiel whispered, then turned his head up. "I believe you did." He wiped his hand across his forehead to try and get rid of sweat. He only succeeded in smearing dirt across his face.

Dean laughed and leaned forward. He pulled out a rag he used at work (clean of course since he switched rags per shift), and reached to wipe away the dirt. Castiel's breath froze underneath him and for a moment Dean was worried he'd overstepped his boundaries. Asking would've probably been a better idea than blundering in and expecting it to go okay. He started to pull his hand away and stopped when Castiel looked from the towel back up at him again. With a swallow and a question in his eye he tentatively reached forward. He let out a mental sigh of relief as Cas consented, eyes closing a little as Dean wiped away the grime. Cas' breath was a little shakier than he'd remembered it being when they started.

When Dean pulled back, Cas licked his lip and Dean mimicked the motion. It took something slamming in the distance to snap them both out of the trance of examining each others mouths.

"Lunch?" The word came out as more of a croak than Castiel had intended.

"I was hoping for that." Dean held out his hand to help him up from the ground and felt himself melt once more when their palms slid together and locked.

Dean let Cas take the lead and wandered behind him. He watched with a small, pleased smile as even as they passed Castiel couldn't leave the flowers alone. If a pot was set too close to another one he'd reach down and gently move it so the petals could have room to spread out. Dean was so focused on watching the younger boy that he nearly ran into a bee. He yelped and flailed a little bit, swinging the sandwich bag in the air to try and move it away.

"Something wrong, Dean?" Castiel gave him that adorable head tilt.

"There was a bee here a second ago, I swear."

"Try not to bother them, they're necessary for the plants."

"It's not like once they've been uprooted they need to pollinate," Dean mumbled.

Castiel chuckled at him and waved him through a back door. "We do have a nursery. Where do you think most of our potted plants come from?"

Dean shrugged and let the door slide shut behind him. He'd been led to what looked like a small break room. There was a miniscule coffee table next to a window, two chairs, and plants hanging from the ceiling. There was a second back door that opened into the alleyway letting in a cool breeze. The only other door led to what Dean assumed was the office. Cas waved at him to sit down while he walked into it, coming back with a granola bar and orange juice.

"You still gonna eat that?" Dean asked as he settled comfortably in the chair.

"Wouldn't make sense to let it go to waste." Castiel reached over the table, making Dean lean back to avoid getting squashed, and popped the locks open on the window. He gave the two panels a gentle shove and let them swing back.

"Those things would outlast an apocalypse."

Cas chuckled and Dean felt a small swell of pride. It wasn't like he'd ever had problems with his charm before but these small expressions were worth more than any of his other experiences combined. Now if only he could find something that would make Cas clutch at his belly and double over. He rummaged through the sandwich bag and laid out a few on the table. "I didn't know what you liked so I just made the classics. I made them like my mom does so they shouldn't be too bad. At least Sammy eats my cooking so they shouldn't give you stomach cramps or anything."

"You cook?" Castiel grabbed one of the sandwiches and began unwrapping it from the cellophane.

Dean shrugged and looked out of the open window. "I'm not a chef or anything but I can at least make noodles and heat up some tomato sauce. Though it doesn't exactly take a genius to toss some Chef Boyarde into a pot."

"I wouldn't say that. The most I can do is toss things in a microwave. Though even with my brother's cooking I think it'd be safer if we stuck to microwave dinners."

"Your brother? Don't your parents know how to cook either?" Dean felt like he'd asked an awkward question when Cas brought the sandwich back down from his lips before taking a bite.

"My parents are no longer around, and no, don't apologize. We get on fine."

"Right... listen," Dean coughed, "I don't mean to pry but how old are you anyway?"

Castiel fidgeted in his seat. He knew that Dean was older than him at least. "I'm 18."

"18?" Dean frowned. "That's a little young to be taking care of a household." And that's something he would know. At least, despite being hospitalized, he still had his mother.

"It's not as bad as it sounds." Cas let himself relax a little. "One of my siblings is an emancipated teen and the other is around 14. We were lucky. If it hadn't been for my legal status as an adult and his we could've been separated. For whatever reason we've never know most of our family, we were concerned that the state would step in. Besides, you're taking care of your brother while your mother is ill."

Dean stopped eating and just stared at Castiel, impressed. It was nearly impossible for a sibling, who wasn't significantly older and with a stable job, to even keep custody one kid let alone two. Horror stories of separation like that kept him up some nights. "You're impressive though. Not a lot of people could handle that."

Castiel felt his cheeks color and hid himself in the sandwich, taking a huge bite. He forgot about his embarrassment as he chewed and swallowed. "I don't know about the rest of your cooking. But you wouldn't make a bad living as a sandwich maker."

"Not bad huh?" Dean smirked and leaned forward in his chair, crowding closer to Cas. "Maybe one of these days I could take you home and show you some of my other masterpieces. I make Beefaroni like no ones business."

Cas shook his head with a smile and took a sip of his orange juice. "I don't go home with strangers."

"Well how about dinner at the diner down the street? Nice and public."

"Dean, if I didn't know better I'd say you were trying to ask me out."

"I am."

Cas nearly choked on the piece of bread he'd swallowed. He held out his hand to stop Dean from springing from his chair to help him. He gulped down large swigs of his orange juice before swallowing and breathing in deeply, trying to get the lump of food to pass through. It scratched at his throat as it finally slid into place. Castiel hadn't really taken their luncheon as anything special. Dean seemed like the type of person who was generally friendly; he'd assumed that the way he'd been treated was no different than how Dean treated others. At the very least Cas couldn't be sure if he was serious of even this and he wasn't going to let himself hope. "You're joking."

Dean's smile slipped off of his face a little as he pulled back. "You can just say no."

"No! -No. I mean, not-"

"One no is plenty," Dean said with a wince. His intuition usually played a better ball game than this.

"That's not what I meant," Cas nearly snapped, a little impatient. He fiddled with the edges of his apron. "I don't know you very well. Who knows what intentions you have."

"Intentions?" Dean stared dumbfounded for a second before bursting out laughing. "You're too much, Cas." He slapped his knee and leaned towards the window sill. "So is that a yes?"

Castiel fought the urge to cross his arms across his chest. Instead, he rolled his eyes and went back to eating the sandwich. "It's an 'we'll see'?"

"How about this, give me a chance to sweep you off your feet, and if it's not what you're into, I'll back off."

"Sounds... fair enough," Cas said after some contemplation. "What did you have in mind?" His heart thundered in his chest. He knew he wasn't exactly an ugly pumpkin but it wasn't common for people to have much interest in him, especially men like Dean. Even the fact that he could refer to Dean as a man made his skin feel warm. He found he liked the feeling.

"Nothing much. Look, I'm not a fan of you eating that rabbit food candy bars anyway. So how about this, I bring you lunch whenever you're around and we go from there?" Dean hoped that Cas would agree. It was the simplest and easiest way to do it. He'd get to impress the younger boy with his cooking skills and have company for lunch. It wasn't like he had anything against his work buddies, it just wasn't the same type of company.

"I think," Castiel swallowed the last bite of his sandwich, "that I would be agreeable to that."

"It's a date then."

Castiel blushed a little and Dean laughed. "You're finding this way too amusing." He wiped off with a clean napkin some of the juice he'd spilled down his chin after Dean had made a rather risque comment.

"I'm not laughing at you. Pink's just a color that suites you."

"I'm tempted to cancel our lunch meetings."

Dean let his laughter fade into a lopsided smile. He let his chin rest on his palm. "What? My wooing techniques not good enough for you?" They'd successfully made it through almost four weeks of lunch dates. Dean found he was addicted.

"They could use some work." Dean sputtered into his drink and let out a hearty bark of laughter at the teasing tone.

"All right, should I start with poetics?"

"Please don't strain yourself unnecessarily."

"Hey, now. You've never even heard me try. I could be the next Shakespeare for all you now."

Castiel simply leaned back in his chair, amused and gave him a small, delicate wave of his hand. "Go on. Impress me."

Dean struggled for a little bit before shaking his head a little. "Your eyes are like... name a really cool flower with meaning that's the color of your eyes."

"I don't think that's how it's supposed to work," Castiel replied with a huff and a smile. "Perhaps poetry is simply not for you."

"I'm heart broken. I'll never be taught in English classes."

"I believe we've spared future generations."

"You're really cheeky, you know that."

Cas smiled and grinned a little around the small spoonful of pasta. Dean had been too embarrassed at first to bring it over, it had been just left overs from the night before, but Cas had insisted on trying it. It was one of the best things yet that Dean had brought to lunch. A few times he'd attempted to buy out and each time Cas had at first shyly, and now vigorously, complained that he wanted to sample more of Dean's culinary skills. Dean had taken that as a step in the right direction.

Dean glanced at his watch and sighed. "I hate to cut this short but I gotta get back a little earlier. I have to go buy a few groceries for later. Picking up Sam and dropping him off at Missouri's and I'm tired of us eating up all of her food every time he goes over."

"Missouri?"

"Yeah, she uh, she's been a blessing. I feel like we're constantly in her way though. She actually has a little shop but she's been staying home, answering phones so she can watch after Sam the days I work late."

Dean was almost halfway out of the door and the shop before Cas' feet had decided to move. On impulse he'd followed, dodging the tables of flowers, grabbed his sleeve and yanked back a little bit. Heat warmed his neck and he looked at the ground for a moment.

"That sad to see me go?" Dean threw him a charming grin.

"I could help."

"Huh?" 

Castiel looked up and swallowed the spit that had gathered in his mouth. "I could help with Sam." Dean's grin slipped of his face and he looked at him confused. For a moment Cas feared he'd over-stepped his boundary. "I baby sit. Sometimes. For the Moore family. They have a little girl, Jessica. She's about eight and I watch her when her parents are out on business. If you'd like. You can call them of course and verify everything-"

"I know who the Moore's are, Cas. I'm pretty sure Sammy has a ginormous kid crush on that Jessica girl. And here I thought you were convinced something untoward was going to happen if you came to my house."

Blushing, Cas refused to look up. "Oh... and, well-we know each other better now."

A gentle finger dipped underneath his chin. Soon he found himself staring into warm eyes. "Better, huh?"

Cas yanked his head out of the loose grip feeling absolutely like a tomato. "Not _that _well, Dean Winchester."

To his relief Dean only laughed.

"I'll talk to Sammy and ask him how he feels about it. He might get all difficult and huffy and insist he doesn't need a a baby sitter because he's already in 4th grade." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Well, let me know."

"You have a number I could call you on?"

Cas looked around frantically for a piece of paper and a pen. "Yes-let me-"

"Here." Dean held out his palm and a pen he'd fished out of his jacket pocket to him.

With slightly trembling hands he turned over Dean's palm, mumbling that the top of the hand was smoother to write on. He penned his number as quickly and clearly as he could, despite wanting to keep the other man's hand in his own for much longer. Reluctantly he let go, fingers briefly trailing against each other.

"I'll be calling you, Cas."

He blushed as Dean ran a quick hand through his mussy hair.

Castiel didn't get a chance to see Dean for a few days after that. He'd picked up a little bit more time at his job and they hadn't had the chance to have their regular lunches. The silver lining had been that now that they'd finally exchanged numbers he ended up talking to him a lot more often. His favorite things were the random texts he'd get throughout the day. Cas would be in the middle of arranging a set of tulips when his phone would beep. It was never anything profound but the small, insignificant updates on Dean's work day that made him smile. He talked about work, stupid customers and asking if Cas ever had to deal with them (to which he'd responded valentine's day was the worst), and the most recent dorky things he'd seen his little brother do. In the evenings he would get messages about recipes and dishes that he'd made that he wished he could have Castiel taste. They both knew that he was too busy for it anytime soon but every single time he responded with 'you'll have to bring it next time.'

His siblings had even started to wonder why he was more attached to his phone than ever and why he got a dorky smile on his face whenever it buzzed. So far he'd been successful in keeping his phone out of their clutches.

Cas didn't get a response on the baby sitting offer until he was shrugging himself into a jacket to get ready to head over to the Moore's. It had been a little over two weeks since he'd last had a chance to speak with Dean. He'd taken the day off from the flower shop, letting the two assistants that had worked there in his father's time take over. The Moore's paid well and they were kind people.

"Dean?" Cas spoke, surprised as he answered his phone. They rarely called each other even if they managed to fill each other's inboxes daily.

"_So, about that baby-sitting offer?" _

"Yes?"

"_I haven't really had a chance to talk about it with Sammy yet but Missouri had an emergency and I need him to be watched over. I'm about to pick him up from school." _

"Oh uhm-"

"_If you wanna take it back that's fine."_

"No! Not at all, it's just," Cas bit his lip. He thought over it for a moment before pausing, "It would be at your home, correct?"

"_Can't exactly bring him to yours. Shit- you're at the shop aren't you?"_

"Give me a moment?" Cas hung up before saying good bye. Only belatedly did he realize that was probably very rude. He tightened his jacket and closed the door. With only a small feeling like he was being rude he jogged across the street to the Moore's house.

He knocked on the door and it wasn't long before Mrs. Moore herself opened it. "Come in, we weren't expecting you for a little bit longer."

Castiel smiled and stepped inside, before they could make it very far he fidgeted. "Actually, Mrs. Moore, I had a question."

"Yes?"

"Do you know the Winchester's?"

She smiled, "Of course I do. Lovely family, it's a shame with Mary in the hospital. She's a joy to be around and her sons are wonderful. Especially little Sammy."

"Good," Cas took in a deep breath. "I just got a call from Dean and they need an emergency baby sitter and I was wondering, I know I'm already baby-sitting Jessica but since their friends?-"

"A baby-sitter playdate?" she mused as she led the both of them deeper into the house. Mrs. Moore walked into the living room and beckoned Jessica over. She bypassed her mother to lunge at Cas. He bent down and scooped her up into his arms, hugging her and then letting her slide back down to the floor. Despite picking up heavy potted plants all day she was getting big enough to where he couldn't lift or throw her in the air anymore.

"Jess, baby. How would you feel about a play-date with Sammy?"

Jess' eyes went round and her smile widened. She clapped her hands together in excitement. With the family situation at the Winchester's there had never really been any time for her to spend time with him after school. "Yes please! I wanna go over to Sam's!"

"I guess that answers it."

Castiel waited until Mrs. Moore and Jessica had moved to go collect her things before calling Dean back.

"_What was that?"_

"Sorry," Cas mumbled into the phone.

"_Right, so-?"_

"I can do it, but, would you mind if Jessica was there?"

"_Jess? Uh, sure?" _

"I'm already baby sitting her. Her parents are leaving on another trip for a few days and since I'm usually the go to person-"

"_Right, I guess. I don't think I even remember where they live." _

"Don't worry about that. I've received permission from Mrs. Moore to bring Jessica over."

"_Really?" _There was the sound of relieved laughter on the end. _"That's great Cas. You're a saving grace, you know that? What would I do without you?" _

"Probably run into less bees." Cas clapped a hand over his mouth a little embarrassed. The comment had come out of his mouth before he'd fully processed it.

"_I'll live with the bee's as long as you stick around." _

The blush that spread across his cheeks this time wasn't due to embarrassment. His body felt tingly and he smiled softly into the phone. He pressed his lips together to stop a pleased hum from coming out of him.

"_So, you want me to pick you guys up or?" _

"My brother has the only car. I usually just walk to the shop or take a town bus to my other job."

"_Picking you up it is then." _

He stayed on the phone with Dean as he relayed directions to get into the neighborhood. Mr. and Mrs. Moore left, pressing the house key into his hand, before the other boy could arrive. He'd been on the phone when Dean had relayed to Sam that he had a surprise for him. At first he could hear Sam gripping and whining in the background about not needing a baby sitter. It wasn't until Dean had let it slip that a certain little girl was going to be there that Sam's tone had shifted. Cas had laughed and gestured for Jess to come over to the phone. He held it out to her as she yelled in "Hi-i Sa-am" and gotten and equally vocal response back. After that he'd heard Dean cursing and struggling, telling Sam to get back in his seat and to 'put that damn seat belt back on'.

"_Way to go, Cas." _

He smiled and watched Jess double check the items in her bag. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"_Next time you feel a 'good idea' coming on, you should try running it by me first." _

"I didn't realize there was a chain of command."

"_There is now."_

Cas heard the rumble of a car approaching. He stood up and pushed aside the curtains, peering out of the window. He smiled as he saw the sleek hood of the Impala come into view at the end of the street. He'd only had the chance to see the car a few times when he'd managed to be out in the front of the shop when Dean had dropped by for lunch. Castiel had a routine when it came to how he worked his way through the shop and usually by mid-day he was wrist deep in soil towards the back. His spine tingled knowing he would be getting a ride in it.

"I think I see you."

"_Of course it's me. No one else has a gorgeous girl like mine." _

"It's very well kept," Cas agreed as he rounded Jess up. He didn't know much about cars or classics but even he could tell that the vehicle was well loved. He hung up the phone and ushered the little girl out of the door, locking it behind him and jiggling the handle to make sure it was truly locked. It wouldn't look well if the one time he took Jess somewhere else the Moore house was robbed.

Jess ran ahead of him, recognizing the car from the Elementary school drop off loop. Cas heard Dean protest as Sam wrenched the car door open and leaped out of the car. His feet hit the pavement and in moments he and Jess were tangled up in a hug.

"Damn kids," Dean muttered as he slid out of the car, leaving it idling.

Cas felt his ears warm as Dean turned to him and flashed him a bright smile. It was always something that made his tummy tingle with delight. It was a warm buzz that he could feel between his shoulder blades and down to his toes. Dean always looked at him like everything in the world paled compared to him. Then there was that sometimes shy, sometimes cocky, smile that always held a bit of warmth in it.

"Hey." Dean slid his hands into his jacket pockets.

It took a moment for Cas to stop trying to count his freckles. "Hello, Dean."

They stood for a moment, both simply content to take the other in until a sharp kick to Dean's knee brought them both out of it.

"Jesus, Sammy!" Dean cursed as his hand dropped down to cover his leg.

"Can we go now?" He huffed out.

Cas blushed, apparently they'd been staring at each other long enough for Sam to get impatient. Which, when he actually thought about it couldn't have been that long. Nine year old's still had relatively short attention spans. It was still a little embarrassing and his only refuge was that when he caught Dean's eyes again the man seemed to have redden a little himself. He coughed into a closed fist and mumbled something.

"For that, you get to sit in the back."

"That's okay," Sammy said reaching out and taking Jessica's hand into his own, "I wanted to sit with Jess anyway. Who'd wanna sit next to you when I can sit next to her?" Sam stuck out his tongue and moved to the door. Cas had to hold in the laugh that threatened to burst forth when Sam reached up for the handle and in an exaggerated motion threw it open. He let go of Jessica's hand and held the door open for her as she climbed it.

"Would ya look at that," Dean muttered a smile gracing his lips. "Sammy's a gentleman."

"You could learn a thing or two from him you know."

Cas tried to stuff the words back in his mouth and take them back when Dean gave him a contemplative look. Nerves shot up his spine as Dean's eyes twinkled and he started moving to the other side of the car. His neck felt burning hot as he watched Dean move to the other side, open the door, and stand by it on the other side. It took a moment for Cas' feet to move but when they did he might as well have stayed put with how weak they felt.

His thank you came out as an embarrassing squeak as Dean laid a warm and gentle hand on his back, guiding him into the Impala. He waited until Cas had settled himself in the front seat, hands in his lap, before closing the door gently and lightly jogging back to the other side of the car. Castiel refused to look at Dean, staring out of the window instead. He knew his face was aflame and didn't want to see Dean's smug smile. Still, when he let his hand drop to the seat and it gently brushed Dean's, the one not resting on the wheel, he let it stay there; neither did he move it when Dean's pinky tentatively looped itself around his own.

They weren't technically even holding hands but in that moment Cas felt himself hopelessly spiraling into some type of hazy madness. If anyone were to ask him later, that all too terribly shy and brave motion from Dean was when he'd realized he was in trouble. That was the moment he knew he'd never be able to let go.

The play-date had gone quietly enough. It had actually been relatively easy from a baby-sitter's stand point. The environment had been the most stressful for Cas.. From the moment Dean had dropped them off at the house and Sam had walked Jessica to their door, nerves had set in. He was about to be allowed into _Dean's _home. He'd spent the rest of the day, waiting for Dean to get home from work, nervously sitting on the couch afraid to touch anything. Other people's home's were sacred spaces, especially Dean's.

Since the play date had gone so well, most of the times that Cas baby sat Sam he was given permission to bring Jessica along to play. It was adorable really. Sometimes Dean would make it home a few hours before they had to bring Jess and Cas back. When he did, he and Cas usually stayed in the kitchen, watching amused as Sam and Jess remained glued to each others side.

Dean tried to pay Cas for every time he baby-sat. At first Cas had tried to reject the money but seeing how badly it troubled Dean; he'd taken it. Of course, he only spent it on things that Sam and Jess needed when he was baby-sitting them. Dean knew about it but didn't mention it. It was a system they could work with that didn't compromise either of their values.

Watching Dean interact with Sam whenever he did come home only worsened his crush on the older boy. They still kept to their lunch dates. Cas kept working at his family's flower shop but was slowly letting his help take over a little bit more. Besides, the shop was only open for two hours after Sam got off of school anyway. Most days Missouri still took Sam in but whenever that was impossible, Dean would pick up Cas from the shop on the way home and they'd go home together. Weekends were still off limits due to Cas' other job but he found himself spending a lot more time at the Winchester's than he'd originally intended. He was lucky his siblings were rather self-sufficient. He'd tried to apologize for being gone so much but they'd only teased him.

He'd never felt so wrapped up in another person before and hoarded the memories he made with Dean greedily. He played them over in his head, polished them until they shined, and found himself craving him more with every re-play. One of his new favorite pastimes was watching Dean cook. On the days where he got home early enough he would let Cas pick out what to make, and then bring over the leftovers since Cas still demanded to make it home for dinner. The routine felt soothingly domestic and Cas wasn't in a hurry to change it. Dean had once tentatively brought up if Cas was feeling more comfortable with him and he'd shyly nodded but hadn't continued to say anything past that. Dean hadn't mentioned it again during their lunch but as he was leaving Castiel had braved a gentle touch of his hand to Dean's. He couldn't do more without feeling like he was going to burst out of his skin and never pull himself together again. Dean was simply too much, but these small things he could do.

The smile he'd been rewarded with kept him glowing for weeks.

Dean hadn't been as elated as he was for a long time. Even his mother had noticed a change in him and she'd told him that it made her happy. Mary had noticed a steadily escalation in his mood as the months passed. The change had been especially noticeable with how long the time between visits had been for a moment. They'd had to cut back their visits for awhile after she had a relapse. The doctors had advised them to keep their visits short to save her energy and for a few weeks had barred them from visiting completely. Sam hadn't really understood and Dean refused to explain. One of them being terrified was enough. Those nights he'd spent in bed, phone is his hand thumbing messages back and forth with Cas. Dean would curl up in bed, hand loosely lifted on the pillow next to him as he typed out bitterness. He never explained anything to him fully but somehow the other boy could pick up when he wasn't feeling so hot. The messages he received back were always warmer and bolder than anything Castiel usually had courage for. Hit method of comforting was adorable and the way that Cas took all of his ugly motions and rinsed him clean like a sieve never ceased to amaze him. Although they hadn't moved beyond gentle, brief touches, every time that Dean saw Cas his heart hammered louder in his chest and he was terrified that one of these days it was just going to leap out of his chest. He needed to do something soon before he really did end up with an organ on the floor and a helluva clean up job if he didn't keel over dead.

He was glad to have him around the house too. It wasn't something that he would've ever admitted out loud, and barely admitted to himself, but the house had felt colder to him since their mother had been hospitalized. Every time that Cas was available to baby sit, Dean tried to be mindful of the boy's own difficulties, the world seemed a little warmer. He tried not to let himself get used to seeing Cas in their kitchen or sitting on the couch watching some dumb movie that Sam had picked out. Dean also cursed his hormones for how badly he needed to touch him. He was going to keep a respectable distance and deal with himself for now but he couldn't deny how badly he craved just a small brush of lips. Then again, he'd never felt so close to someone he'd never been with physically before.

The texts late at night were like gentle caresses, Cas' laughs like soft kisses, and his smile like soothing fingers through his hair.

Still, he almost envied his little brother. While it was hilarious and he was glad that his brother was happy, the shameless way that Jess and Sam announced their affections for each other made him jealous. How easily they told each other they were loved, they'd be together forever, and never went too far without the other in tow. The easy way the cuddled with each other during a movie while he and Cas kept small inches between them.

Despite that, he wouldn't give up what he had for anything and he was excited to get to the house. Thinking he'd have to be at work the entire day, Missouri being busy, he'd asked if Cas could baby sit. It had turned into another play date with Jessica but he'd agreed to come over. Luckily, there'd been a small mishap at work and he'd been sent home earlier than usual.

In hindsight he should've probably called Cas to let him know about the shift in plans. He'd unlocked the door and walked into the living room and when he'd spoken Cas had just about hit the ceiling with how high he'd jumped. Dean felt bad for laughing but the high pitched scream that had come from him had been too cute.

"Dean!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" He tried to catch his breath.

Castiel attempted to temper down his embarrassment and look dignified at the same time. That was maybe one of Dean's favorite things that he did. "What are you doing here?!"

"There was an accident at work. They let me go early."

"Oh," Cas said softly and let his arms drop from where he'd crossed them. He fidgeted in his spot for a moment. "So... I guess I should?"

Dean stepped forward and licked his lips, "Stay?" He could've sworn that Castiel looked relieved. Had he really expected to be sent home?

"Sam and Jess are in the kitchen."

"Kitchen? Aren't they usually messing up in here?" Dean asked as he trailed after him. It was a little annoying and he'd given up completely on trying to get marker stains out of the carpet. He just hoped he could get it steam cleaned before their mother came home.

"With their history of getting things on the furniture I wouldn't let them eat sticky things in there."

"Good call," Dean mumbled.

"And I didn't even have to run it by you this time," Cas teased.

Dean smiled and walked forward. Tentatively he settled his hands on both of his arms and aligned their bodies. He let his forehead lean against the back of Cas neck before pulling back. It was as close as he would let himself get for now and it was getting harder and harder to pull away. "I can't believe you're still hanging onto that." He marched past him, smiling at how red Cas had gotten before turning his attention to the two kids sitting on their island counter.

"Dean!" Sam exclaimed jumping off of the stool and running up to give his brother a hug. "You're home early."

"Yup, you been good? Haven't given Cas any trouble?"

Sam pouted, "I haven't even had enough hours to try giving Cas trouble."

"Whatever you say, rugrat."

"I'm nine," Sam shot back and moved back to the counter.

Cas came up to Dean's elbow as they watched Sam struggle with a wrapper to a piece of candy. "Do you need help with that?"

"No, he's gotta do it himself," Jess chimed in, holding something colorful in her hand.

They stepped up closer as Sam finally ripped open his package. It was a ring pop. Dean wondered where the hell they'd dug 'em up. He wasn't sure if last years Halloween candy was still healthy to eat after so long. He turned to Cas. "It was cheap and they wouldn't let me not get them."

"Well we can't stay together forever without them," Sam said and leveled them with an impatient and judgmental look. Dean worried for his teenage years, Sam would be a massive pain.

"What do ring pops have to do with staying together forever?"

"For an adult you don't know very much," Sam told Dean before reaching over to Jess. She opened her palm to reveal her own ring pop.

Dean tried his best not to tease as he watched Sam and Jess exchange the ring pops, sliding them onto a finger. He didn't bother to point out that they'd messed up which finger it was supposed to go on but he knew what they were playing at. Cas nudged him and Dean was glad to see that he was having just as much trouble commenting on it. They didn't say anything until the two had jumped off of the table top and hand in hand marched into the living room. They heard the sliding door to the back yard open and then slide shut before they burst into small, breathy laughs.

"Oh man. That was too good."

"Sam seems very serious about Jess."

"I'll say so."

Their laughter died down and they were left in silence. Dean felt heat thrumming through his veins as he struggled not to be aware of Cas next to him. It was a battle not to reach over and grab his hand. Instead he let the silence drift on until it became a little too awkward for him to be able to deal with and turned around. He nearly collided into Cas in his haste to do so.

He felt two hands steady him and when he looked up their noses almost touched. Cas blushed and pulled back, letting his hands drop from Dean's arms. "We should, we should go check on Sam and Jess."

"The kids, right," Dean mumbled as he watched Cas nearly flee the room.

With a sigh and a wry smile he followed Cas out to the backyard. Whatever warm feelings he'd had he lost as he walked past Castiel to where Sam and Jess were sitting by a tree.

"Sammy!" he barked. He reached over and grabbed the knife out of his hands. It was one of their father's old ones. Dean didn't even think they still had it let alone how Sam had managed to get his hands on it. "What the hell?!"

He felt Cas coming up a little behind him. Sam looked like he was ready to burst into tears but he really couldn't care about that. Nine year olds didn't get to play with knives. "You're not supposed to have this!"

He probably would've fumed a little longer if Cas hadn't laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Dean." He looked to where he was pointing. His eyes landed on a crudely carved "S.W + J.M". It hadn't even made it that deep into the bark.

"That's how they do it in the movies," Sam whispered as Jess held his hand. Dean didn't yell very often, and never at her, but it still wasn't something pleasant to be around.

Dean sighed and rubbed a tired hand over his face. "Sam. You can't just play with these things. You could get hurt."

"We just wanted to do it right," Jess offered.

Trying to placate the situation Cas stepped forward. He looked at Dean once for permission. He shrugged his shoulders and stepped back. Cas was better than him with children; sometimes he even thought that he handled Sam better. But maybe it was different with people outside of the family. Couldn't be as snarky with them.

"Well then you're going to have to start all over again."

"What?" Sam asked, eyes wide. "No, we did it like they do on TV." He held out his ring pop adorning hand as proof.

"Marriage requires a wedding and a ceremony."

Sam and Jess looked almost horrified at having forgotten.

"We gotta have a ceremony right now or we won't be together forever!" Jess pleaded, concerned. She threw her arms over Sam's shoulders and squeezed hard.

"Cas, we gotta do it right!" Sam said getting up and pushing at his and Dean's leg, the argument already forgotten.

Dean grumbled and sheathed the knife in the holder he picked up from the grass and followed. He didn't even like real weddings, how the hell was he going to sit through a fake one. He was about to voice his protest when Cas stopped him with a brush on his elbow.

"It's not going to be that bad."

Dean pouted but let himself be led into the living room. "All right, fine, but Cas you're playing priest."

"Me?" Cas' voice squeaked a little.

"That's a good idea," Sam said seriously as he cleared an area of toys and crayons. With a stern expression on his face he brought Cas one of his history books and slapped it into his hands. "I think we're supposed to have a Bible but I don't know where any are." Dean chuckled and Cas shot him a glare.

Dean's amusement grew, his irritation now completely forgotten as Sam wandered around gathering things he thought appropriate for a wedding. He made a bouquet out of bendy straws, Dean joked to Cas that maybe they should've run down to the flower shop to get them a real one, and found a piece of yarn to tie around his neck like a bow tie. For Jess they also pulled out a tiara from her backpack and she wiggled into a pink tutu. They gave each other their ring pops back and looked expectantly at Cas. He gave Dean one more pleading look but he simply stood back.

"I don't know what you want from me," he stepped to the other side of the pint-sized couple so he was facing Cas but more to Sam's side. "I'm the best man, I already have a place in the wedding."

"I don't even know what to say," Cas mumbled back with a frown.

Dean didn't hesitate to pull up his phone, type in a search to google. He tossed his phone gently towards Castiel who caught it after flailing a little. He shot Dean a dirty look but relented. "This is only because I love you."

He knew the comment was directed at Sam and Jessica but Dean felt his heart flutter anyway. His face grew red and he felt like hiding somewhere when Cas caught his eye. His own cheeks redden as he realized what he'd said.

They were only a phrases stumbled and paraphrased sentences in when Dean decided it had been a bad idea. At first he'd looked at Sam and Jess, trying his best not to laugh at them a little. So he'd chosen to focus on Cas and the rumble of his voice. It already rubbed along his body like a cat's purr he couldn't imagine how it would lower as he got older. Couldn't wait to hear how that voice carried other noises. Realizing where his mind had been drifting he'd forced himself to look at Cas, only to look up into a sharp, focused gaze. Castiel hadn't stopped watching him since the ceremony had started. Dean swallowed and couldn't find a way to unpin himself from the look. He was in trouble.

Dean found himself mouthing the words along with Castiel and the little rugrats, trying to shake off the feeling.

"Sam Winchester, do you take Jessica Moore to be your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?

Sam yelled out an enthusiastic 'I do' as Dean kept his eyes glue to Cas. He was still mouthing the words, unable to look away. Heat flooded and thrummed underneath his veins as Cas licked his lips, blushing.

"Jessica Moore, do you take Sam Winchester to be your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better of for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"

"I do."

Sam and Jessica stopped, Jess still with her mouth open, not having gotten a word out, before breathing in deeply in shock. It took Dean a minute, with Jess and Sam's giggles in the background, to realize it had come out of his mouth. Another minute to realize that the reason Cas was holding a hand over his own mouth was because because he'd said it too. Dean didn't move until he felt tugging on his hand. Sam was grinning at him, laughing. He held out his ring pop. "Here."

"What?" Dean asked dumbly. He held out his hand and Sam dropped it in.

"You said 'I do'! You and Cas are married now! You gotta give him the ring now!" Sam said giving him that 'you're an idiot' look.

"We're but wait- you two were getting married!" Dean protested as he felt himself going bright red. He knew his face had to be crimson by now.

"You stole our wedding," Sam said, this time with mock angry pout. "Jess never got to say I do. W can't finish now 'cause you talked during our wedding. You're supposed to hold your peace."

"Sam's right," Jess agreed. She'd made her way to Cas and was yanking on his hand to try and get her own ring pop into his palm.

"Dean-" Cas paused and finally let Jessica open his hand. The ring felt huge and heavier than it should've been as he clenched around it.

Sam nudged Dean sharply with his elbow. "Dean! Don't leave him alone on the altar!" He turned his big eyes to Cas, a mischievous spark hidden in their depths. "Dean is a bad husband, I'm sorry Cas."

Cas tried to respond, find something to say to defend Dean or pull the game to an end when Dean stepped forward. He gently grabbed Cas' hand and spread the fingers open. He clenched his jaw as he gathered his courage and gently slipped the ring pop onto Cas' finger. Dean heard Cas' breathing hitch and gently drew back. "I'll have it be known Dean Winchester is a man, and a man doesn't leave someone at the altar."

He tried to look Cas in the eye but failed, ears burning. It wasn't until he felt a gentle hand on his own that he found the courage to look up. "I suppose I wouldn't want to be that type of man either," Cas whispered as he slid the other ring pop onto Dean.

Laughter from Jess and Sam pulled them apart. They nearly jumped a few feet away from each other as if their clasped hands had burned. The laughter didn't stop until after they'd eaten and built two blanket forts in the living room.

"I'm sorry about-" Dean started and then stopped. He let his sentence hand in the air before he leaned back onto the edge of the couch. It was the first thing that had been spoken between them since they'd said their accidental vows. Somehow they'd managed to give the ring pops back and convince Sam and Jess to finish out their wedding, that it was still theirs. It hadn't made anything less awkward.

"Sorry about what?" Cas whispered as he leaned back, letting his hand fall a little to gently brush against Dean's side where it landed.

"You know the," Dean gulped. He was having a hard time trying to figure out how to say it. "The rings and the wedding thing."

"Oh."

"You sound almost disappointed," Dean remarked, surprised. He told himself that he was just projecting his hope onto Cas and clammed up again. He should have a better self censoring system.

"Oh no I-"

"Look, I know we've been taking it slow and I'm pretty sure that made you super uncomfortable and fuck my bad-"

"Dean."

"- I shouldn't have let it get that far just, please tell me we're okay-"

"Dean," Cas said again, more insistent.

"-cause I like you a lot and I feel amazing around you-"

Cas lifted his hand gently from where it had been resting next to Dean. His heart thundered against his ribs as he slowly brought it near the older man's face. He let his thumb idle at the corner of Dean's lip before taking a slow, tentative swipe with the pad of his thumb across them. They felt hot under his fingertips as he traced them before moving his index finger to the center of Dean's lips to silence him. Nervous, he let his hand drift away and cupped the strong line of Dean's jaw before leaning in marveling at the feel of Dean underneath him.

His lips were as soft on his own lips as they had been under his thumb.

Dean sucked in a gentle breath and brought his own hand up to cup around Cas'. He held it there and turned to angle better into him. As Castiel pulled back he chased after his mouth with his own, capturing those lips again pressing peppered kisses along them and down his cheek and to his ear before coming back to claim one more gentle kiss.

"Oh." Cas' voice came out raspy and a little loud.

Dean smiled and shook his head, bringing a finger to Cas' lips. "Shh, we gotta be quiet." He nodded his head in the direction that Sam and Jess' blanket cave was.

Cas nodded and smiled, scooting closer to Dean and braving going in for another kiss. Quietly they exchanged gentle pecks until Dean pulled Cas closer by the waist, nearly pulling him into his lap.

"Been wanting to do this for a long time," he whispered against the younger boy's lips. "So long."

"Was it-" Cas was paused by a wet mouth on his own and a gentle moist slip of tongue , "-worth the wait?"

Feeling stuffy and not particularly paying attention Dean rips down a side of the blanket fort to give them air. They both breathe in a sigh of relief that quickly turns to gentle puffs as they bring their mouths back together. Their hands find each other as they chased each others lip, making a game of it and offering open-mouthed nips and tugs as rewards. The peace didn't last long.

"EW!"

Dean and Cas turned at the sudden noise and separated. They'd been sure that Sam and Jess had fallen asleep and wouldn't be waking up anytime soon; the two round pairs of eyes staring at them, with horror etched into their faces, were proof enough otherwise.

"Okay, bed time," Dean said, face bright red as he tried to block out Sam's gagging noises.

Sam and Jessica's teasing didn't stop until they were at Mary Winchester's bed side.

Cas had ended up spending the night, in Dean's room while he slept on the couch for modesty. In the morning they'd woken up and fumbled awkwardly around each other until Dean had decided to bite the bullet and ask with warm, worried hands if he could have another kiss. Sam had chosen that moment to wake up and run into the kitchen, starting the gagging noise all over again.

Dean had been temped to dunk him into a cold water bath when he'd started making kissing noises and imitating the motions he'd seen them do. In an effort to save some of Cas' dignity he'd told Sam that it was time to pack up and that Cas and Jess had to go home.

He'd pouted and sulked but they'd managed to get dressed and head out the door.

Not even half way to the Moore's had Dean gotten a phone call from the hospital. He hadn't even let the doctor finish before asking Cas and Jess if they could drop by the hospital first. In traditional Dean Winchester fashion he'd expected the worst, no phone call had ever been pleasant. Instead as they all sped through the corridor they'd been met by a doctor who'd told them that Mary was responding to a new treatment.

Sam had run in, tugging Jessica along while Dean stood dumbfounded and glowing in the doctor's wake. Cas had taken his hand and held it gently until he was composed enough to walk into the room.

"-and now they're MARRIED."

Dean wanted to immediately exit the room again and go bury himself in the dirt. Of course that would be one of the first things the brat would be sharing.

"Getting married without your mother present?" Mary teased. She looked healthier. There were still bags under her eyes and too many machines in the room to make Dean comfortable but some of that glow that lit her up had returned.

"It's Sammy's fault," Dean protested, heat warming his neck. It wasn't until he tried to petulantly tuck his hands into his jeans that he remember that he was still holding Cas' hand. He dropped it like hot coal. Mary laughed.

"So this is Castiel?" Cas' nodded and fidgeted in place. He hadn't been thinking of much except being there for Dean; meeting the most important woman in Dean's life had not been on his to do list for the near future. "I've heard a lot about you." Mary lifted her hand from the bed and held it out. Nervous and feeling like his knees were about to collapse, Cas stepped forward. He nearly did collapse when Mary smiled at him and then at her son. "You were right Dean, he _is _very gorgeous."

Sam and Jess busted out laughing, then clapped their hands over their mouths to continue quietly giggling.

Dean bought Cas flowers later that day as an apology.

It took awhile for Mary to be stable enough to be released into home-care despite the experimental new treatment. But, as long months passed, the new medicine had made her well enough to be able to be left alone without supervision for a few hours; long enough at least that Dean could take care of her at home.

The house looked exactly the same as when she had left it. There was a little bit more clutter now that Cas spent a lot of his time at their home and there had been a small corner carved out for Jess.

The only other difference, one that made her smile, was a set of carvings, in the old tree in the backyard underneath the initials Sam had told her, what seemed like forever ago, he and Jess had carved.

"_D.W+ C.N" _


End file.
